Former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter took the stand shortly before 11 AM local time on Friday at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Potter is facing one count of first-degree manslaughter and one count of second-degree manslaughter for fatally shooting 20-year-old Daunte Wright earlier this year during a traffic stop. Initially questioned by her own lawyer, Earl Gray, Potter described having wanted to work in law enforcement since elementary school and her various experiences over the course of her multi-decade career. Soon, Gray brought up April 11, 2021—the day Wright lost his life after Potter claimed she mistook her gun for a Taser. In Potter’s own words, had it not been for officer trainee Anthony Luckey wanting to stop Wright’s vehicle, she likely wouldn’t have pulled him over herself. Potter said she was advised “not to try to enforce a lot of those things because the [license plate] tags just were not in circulation” due to the pandemic. Wright was pulled over for expired license plate tags and for having an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror, the latter a minor violation only recognized in at five other states. Potter, who was dressed in modest clothes that appear to play on the Midwestern mom trope, only became emotional as she was describing the panic she saw in Sgt. Mychal Johnson’s eyes as he and Officer Luckey were attempting to prevent Wright from returning to his car and driving away. “He [Johnson] had a look of fear in his face. It’s nothing I’ve seen before,” Potter said. “We were struggling. We were trying to keep him from driving away. It just, it just went chaotic. And then I remember yelling, ‘Taser, taser, taser’ and nothing happened and then he [Johnson] told me I shot him,” Potter said, overcome with emotion yet emitting few visible tears. Read more